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' (No Model.)

P. O. HARTER & O. A. PARKER.

TYPE WRITER CABINET.

No. 390,298 Patented Oct. 2, 1888.

N. PETERS Phalnilno n nm. Washin ton. D. C,

UNITE STATES ATENT rricn.

FREDERICK O. HARTER AND CHARLES A. PARKER, OF ILION, NEW YORK.

TYPE-WRITER CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 390,298, dated October 2, 1888.

Application filed July 18, 1887. Serial No. 244,646. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it moiy concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERICK Q. HAR- 'IER and CHARLES A. PARKER, citizens of the United States, residing at llion, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Type- VVriter Cabinets, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in type-writer cabinets; and it consists in a certain novel construction and arrangement of parts for service, fully set forth hereinafter, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

Our present invention contemplates the pro vision of means whereby the closing of the lid of the cabinet and the lowering of the typewriter into the cabinet effects the locking of all the drawers of the cabinet, while the raising of the lid, and the consequent raising of the type-writer, causes the unlocking of the drawers of the cabinet. Under such circumstances it is only necessary to provide the hinged lid with a look, by locking which the entire cabinet is closed. By this means we utilize the hinged lid and swinging platform of the cabinet to effect the locking and unlocking of all the drawers thereof, thereby effecting an economy in time by saving the usual necessity of locking and unlocking the drawers separately, and also an economy in the construction and fitting of locks and keys for each drawer.

It is to carry out these important objects that our improvements, as hereinafter set forth, are directed.

In the drawings hereto annexed is illustrated a cabinet embodying our improvements, in which-- Figure l is a central sectional view of the cabinet. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, looking toward the back of the cabinet.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A designates the body of the cabinet, having a series of drawers, B B, on each side of a central open space, the shelf 0 extending outward from the rear closed side of the open space near the bottom, the dust-board D at the front of the cabinet,extending across the open space, and the hinged lid E, closing the top of the cabinet when the type-writer is not in use.

F designates the swinging platform of the device, on which the type-writer rests, the front edge of the said platform bearing on a rail adjacent to the inclined dust-board D, and the rear edge of the said platform being upheld by the counterbalance-weight G, which slides in suitable ways at the rear of the cabinet, and is attached to the lower end of the cord G, that passes up to the top of the cabinet over a suitable guide-roller, and is attached to the rear end of the said platform. It will be seen that the Weight will normally draw the rear side of the platform upward; but when the said platform is lowered the front edge thereof will slide down on the inclined dust-board D to allow the lid E to close tightly all openings in the cabinet to prevent the en trance of dust to the type-writer. XV hen the platform is lowered, the rear edge thereof rests on the small shelf (7.

H designates a curved and toothed bracket secured to the upper side of the platform F, and a segmental toothed bracket, H, is secured to the under side of the lid E to mesh with the said bracket H, so that when the lid is raised the platform will also be drawn up into the horizontal position, the counterbalance-weight assisting in this action.

The features thus far described do not constitute our present invention only so far as they form elemental parts of the novel combinations, said parts being embodied in a previous patent, No. 360,016, dated March 29, 1887.

The description of the several parts are in cluded in the present application only because the effectiveness and the operation 'of the new elements depend thereon.

In explaining the locking devices we will only describe one set of the devices for one set of the drawers, it being understood that the other set is constructed and arranged in pre- I cisely the same way.

I designates a vertical shaft extending up in rear of the drawers B on each side of the cabinet, and provided at the upper and lower ends with longitudinal slots 2' i, through which pass the screws J J, to secure the said shaft to the rear side of the cabinet, the shaft being allowed vertical play by the slots sliding on the said screws.

K designates a lever pivoted at one end to the upper end of the shaft I, and having a spring, K, between the upper side of the other end thereof and the top of the cabinet. It will be seen that the spring Kis designed to press theinnerorfree endofthesaidlever downward, and consequently raise the outer end, and as the upper end of the shaft I is pivoted to the said outer end of the lever the shaft will be raised normally. The inner end of the lever may be curved downward slightly to enable it to pass below the roller G The cord G passes through a small perforation, e, in the inner end of the lever before passing down to the weight. This construction is shown in Fig. 1. In place of the perforation being provided in the lever for the passage of the cord, a keeper or eye maybe attached to the lever for the same purpose. The cord G is made of such a length that when the platform F is lowered, just before the rear edge thereof touches the upper side of the shelf 0, the upper side of the weight G'strikes against the under side of the inner end of the lever and forces the same up against the strength of the spring K. It will be seen that this action will force the outer end of the lever down, and consequently lower the shaft I, to which the locking devices are applied, as hereinafter explained.

L L represent small spring-actuated latches or hooks, arranged at intervals along the vertical shaft I in such positions that when the shaft I is lowered the said latches will engage the rear upper edges of the drawers and hold them from being drawn out. The said latches being spring-actuated and having beveled front ends, it will be seen that if the shaft I is down and it is desired to return the drawers to their proper positions, they are pushed in, the rear edges thereof will pass under the said latches, raising them as they pass, and when the latches fall into their normal positions the drawers will be securely locked in place.

Thus, when the platform F is raised and the type-writer is in operation or raised to the operative position, the shaft I, by the action of the spring K on the upper side of the inner end of the lever K, will be held raised, with the latches out of contact with the drawers, (small studs Z Z being arranged under the arms of the said latches to prevent them from being pressed down too far by their actuatingsprings,) and thus the drawers may be drawn out and pushed in at will. When, however, the said platform is lowered, so that the weight attached thereto ascends and raises the inner end of the lever K, the said shaft I will be depressed, and the said latches will be lowered within reach of the series of drawers, and will lock them in the cabinet. Owing to the fact that as soon as the weight G is lowered sufficiently out of engagement with the said lever K the shaft I is raised and the latches drawn up out of engagement with the drawers, it will be seen that the moment the lid of the cabinet is raised the entire system of drawersis freed that is, the said lid need only be raised about an inch to free all the drawers-thus obviating the necessity, should it be desired to open one of the drawers, of raising the lid to its highest point.

The feature of having the latches all carried by one bar, with the said latches individually pivoted on the same and actuated by small springs, is, we are aware, not broadly new.

The feature of having the lid or cover of the cabinet so connected with the locking-shaft that when the said lid is raised the drawers are unlocked, and when the said lid is closed the drawers are locked, is of importance and forms one of the essential features of our invention; also, the feature of the movable platform so connected to the lockingbar that when the said platform is raised into the operative position the drawers are freed, and when the said platform is lowered to carry the type-writer within the cabinet the said drawers are locked, is of importance.

Another feature of our invention resides in the construction of the parts whereby the latches engage the upper edge of the rear end of the drawers, thereby dispensing with the necessity of providing locking staples or projections on the drawers to be engaged by the latches.

' Having thus described the construction and operation and set forth the advantages of our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a typewriter cabinet, the combination, with thelocking-shaft carrying the latches to engage the drawers of the said cabinet, of the spring-actuated lever K, pivotall y attached to the upper end of the said shaft, the movable platform F, adapted to be swung downwardly at the rear end, the cord G, attached to the said platform, and the counterbalancing-weight G, attached to the said cord and adapted, when the platform is lowered, to be drawn up against the under side of the free end of the lever K to raise the same, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a type-writer cabinet, the combination of the locking devices for the drawers, the swinging platform on which the typewriter rests, the hinged lid connected with the platform, and a counterbalancing-weight con" nected to the platform and adapted to actuate the locking devices for the drawers, as set forth.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own we have hereto affixed our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

FREDERICK O. I-IARTER. CHAS. A. PARKER. Vitnesses:

E. B. SCHMIDT, W. G. SKEEL. 

